Justin's bromance with Blake's ex: Gossip Girl star Penn Badgley and the It Ends With Us co-star she's accused of sexual harassment are linked by niche religion that preaches equality for women

An intriguing twist in the Blake Lively saga has been revealed after her Gossip Girl co-star and ex-boyfriend Penn Badgley appears to have struck up a 'bromance' with Justin Baldoni. 

The actress, 37, has alleged in legal paperwork that her co-star Justin sexually harassed her throughout the making of their film It Ends With Us and engineered a smear campaign against her. He denies the allegations. 

Penn and Justin have featured on podcasts together in the past and are both following each other on social media, although Penn does not follow Blake. 

In November 2021, the pair were spotted out and about in New York and posed for a photo with a fan who shared it to X, which Justin later reposted and tagged Penn, saying: 'Looks like we were spotted by #GossipGirl.'

Another crucial connection between the pair is their Baha'i faith - a niche religion found by an Iranian prophet in the 19th century, which has spread throughout the world and now counts more than eight million members. 

Although there are no clergy or physical churches, it teaches that there is one God and that the major world religions share common principles, which should be drawn on to promote unity and an end to all forms of discrimination.  

Other famous followers include star of The Office, Rainn Wilson, comedian Omid Djalili, and Penn's You co-star Travis Van Winkle. 

The religion also asks men to become the advocates for women by standing up for their rights to help bring about a new era of gender equality around the world.

This message appears to have resonated with both men, with Penn hailed as an 'ally' by fans and Justin - prior to the allegations of sexually harassing Blake -  receiving a Voices of Solidarity Award, given by a non-profit group campaigning for an end to sexual and domestic violence against women. 

Blake and Penn dated from 2007-2010, after meeting on the set of Gossip Girl where they played Dan Humphrey and Serena van der Woodsen. 

The actor, who is now married to Domino Kirke, 39 and is father to son James, two - once credited Blake's teetotal lifestyle with 'saving him' from forcing himself to experiment with drugs and alcohol. 

Discussing how he felt a 'dark undercurrent that would bottom out in my later 20s' as he dealt with his newfound fame, he told Variety: 'To be honest, I never struggled with substance. Blake didn’t drink, and I think our relationship in some ways saved me from forcing myself to go down that road.' 

The former couple appeared to remain amicable after their breakup and were said to be determined to stay good friends.

Two years ago Justin starred on Penn's podcast Podcrushed, which he hosts alongside Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari. 

Together the trio discuss teenage heartbreak, anxiety and self-discovery, with Justin once featuring to share the meanings and misconceptions around what it is to 'be a man' in an episode titled, 'How Justin Baldoni knew she was the one.'

In the episode, he also discussed the 'French Fries analogy' and how he uses it to teach young men about consent.

He described a scenario of going to get fast food with a friend and she changed her mind about eating French fries half way through.

'You don't, like' shove them in her mouth,' he explained. 

'Consent is: Freely given, Reversible, Informed, Enthusiastic, and Specific. FRIES,' he added in a separate Instagram post. 

On another podcast, How to Fail with Elizabeth Day, which was released on December 4, he waxed lyrical about how women are judged by society

Last week, it was revealed Blake has taken legal action against Justin, in the document, seen by the Mail, she accused him of ‘repeated sexual harassment’ as well as coordinating a smear campaign to ‘destroy’ her reputation while filming It Ends With Us. 

This is all the more shocking as Justin– who has denied the allegations – has long positioned himself as an ally to women.

As well as giving talks on ‘toxic masculinity’, he has professed to be a devout follower of Baha’i – a religion that champions unity, peace and gender parity.

Penn revealed he was a follower of Baha’i in 2015, explaining in his interview with Variety: 'I was thinking a lot about social change, social action, social transformation — but also my own transformation, my own change.'

He added: 'I thought to myself, "If I really want to participate in the betterment of the world, I think that I should become a Baha’i."'

How this translates into action is working with the Tahirih Justice Center, a non-profit dedicated to helping vulnerable immigrant women and girls and giving interviews to Teen Vogue about achieving gender equality and highlighting domestic violence. 

He's even turned his role as a serial killer in the Netflix hit You as a point of discussion because his character Joe believes he's an ally to women. 

In legal documents, Blake's team claim that an 'all hands' meeting was held on January 4 of this year, purportedly 'to address the hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production of the Film.'

The meeting is said to have included both Justin and Jamey Heath, the CEO of his production company Wayfarer Studios, and a producer on It Ends With Us. 

Attendees allegedly discussed supposed 'inappropriate conduct' by the actor and Heath, and at the end of the meeting, 'all parties present agreed that the outlined conduct would cease,' per a copy of the suit obtained by the New York Times.

One point that was purportedly 'agreed' upon was: 'No more entering, attempting to enter, interrupting, pressuring or asking BL to enter her trailer or the makeup trailer by Mr Heath or Mr Baldoni while she is nude, for any reason.'

Another read: 'All actors participating with BL in intimate scenes involving her being in any state of nudity or simulated nudity must be classified as active, working actors, not "friends" of the director or producers, and must be pre-approved by BL.'

The lawsuit includes allegations that he showed Blake nude videos and images of other women, discussed his alleged porn addiction, and made inappropriate remarks about her weight, her late father, and other members of the cast and crew.

Blake's legal filing also holds that Justin 'improvised physical intimacy' during a scene without prior discussion or choreography. 

One incident reportedly involved he 'discreetly biting and sucking on Ms. Lively's lower lip' during multiple takes, allegedly insisting on reshooting the scene repeatedly despite her clear discomfort. 

The lawsuit alleges Justin made sexual inquiries, including asking Blake if she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, experienced simultaneous climaxes— a question she found intrusive and refused to answer. 

Blake's legal action claims that before filming began, Justin 'inserted improvised gratuitous sexual content and/or scenes involving nudity into the film (including for an underage character) in highly unsettling ways.'

Among the alleged changes were a 'scene in which Ms. Lively was to orgasm on-camera' and a 'detailed scene' depicting Lily Bloom, the younger version of Lively's character, losing her virginity—neither of which appeared in the original novel.

According to the complaint, these additions were made without Lively's consent after she had already committed to the project.

When Blake raised objections, Justin allegedly defended the changes by claiming they were added because he was crafting the story 'through the female gaze.' 

While he ultimately agreed to remove most of the scenes, he reportedly fought to retain one depicting Lily and Ryle Kincaid, his character, climaxing together on their wedding night, stating it was 'important to him because he and his partner climax simultaneously during intercourse.'

The allegations extend to the film's producer, Jamey Heath, who is accused of compounding the toxic environment. 

The lawsuit claims Jamey pressured Blake to simulate nudity during a childbirth scene, despite prior agreements that no nudity was required. 

Jamey is also accused of showing Lively and her assistant a graphic, fully nude video of his wife giving birth, which Blake initially mistook for pornography. 

Additionally, both Justin and Jamey allegedly entered the actress's trailer unannounced on multiple occasions while she was undressed, breastfeeding, or otherwise vulnerable.

Another unsettling claim involves Justin improvising an intimate moment during a slow-dance scene. 

According to the lawsuit, he leaned in as himself, not in character, and 'slowly dragged his lips from her ear to her neck'  saying, 'It smells so good.'

When Blake objected to his actions, Justin allegedly retorted, 'I'm not even attracted to you.'

Following a meeting in January 2024 between Blake, Justin, producers, and Ryan Reynolds, Wayfarer Studios reportedly agreed to have an intimacy coordinator on set for all scenes involving nudity or simulated sex. 

The studio also assured that no further improvised kissing or physical intimacy would occur.

Meanwhile, bombshell text messages how Justin's crisis management team allegedly launched an smear campaign against Blake. 

Her team say messages included as part of the legal complaint reveal, 'a multi-tiered plan that Mr. Baldoni and his team described as 'social manipulation' designed to 'destroy' Ms. Lively's reputation', which they say began after she raised concerns about conditions on set. 

Rumours of a rift between the movie's leads began to swirl amid its press run, after eagle-eyed fans noted a frostiness between the pair on the red carpet.

Sometime before August 2, Justin hired crisis management expert Melissa Nathan, whose previous clients have included Jonny Depp, as part of his PR team which also included publicist Jennifer Abel.

Many of the messages in the lawsuit, obtained by a subpoena, are between the women, including one exchange in which Nathan states that she can 'bury anyone'.

The message was sent in reply to Abel's text which says that Justin, 'wants to feel like she [Lively] can be buried'. 

'Of course - but you know when we send over documents we can't send over the work we will or could do because that could get us in a lot of trouble,' Nathan responds, adding, 'We can't write we will destroy her'.

She followed up the message with another which reads, 'Imagine if a document saying all the things that he wants ends up in the wrong hands. 

'You know we can bury anyone but I can't write that to him. I will be very tough.'